However, the number of total infections rose by just eight per cent – the lowest level since Italy registered its first death on February 21.

Daniela Trezzi (pictured), a 34-year-old nurse in northern Italy, killed herself after being infected with coronavirus and fearing she had spread the disease to othersThe 34-year-old nurse was working on the front line of the coronavirus crisis at a hospital in Lombardy, the worst-affected region of ItalyA volunteer nurse wearing a mask tends to a homeless person in Milan last night. Thousands of health workers have themselves been infected with coronavirus

Daniela Trezzi had been working on the intensive care ward at the San Gerardo hospital in Monza, around nine miles from Milan, but was in quarantine after showing coronavirus symptoms and testing positive for the disease.

The nursing group also revealed that ‘a similar episode had happened a week ago in Venice, with the same underlying reasons’.

‘Each of us has chosen this profession for good and, unfortunately, also for bad: we are nurses,’ the federation said.

‘The condition and stress to which our professionals are subjected is under the eyes of all.’

The general manager of San Gerardo hospital, Mario Alparone , said Daniela had been at home sick since March 10, and that ‘she was not under surveillance’.

Judicial authorities are now investigating her death, according to local media.

Figures released by an Italian research institute yesterday showed that some 5,760 health workers had been infected with coronavirus.

Nino Cartabellotta, the head of the Gimbe foundation which collected the data, urged that this ‘phenomemon’ must be ‘curbed to safeguard those who take care of us’.

The 5,760 medical workers make up around eight per cent of Italy’s total cases, which rose to 69,176 in the latest figures on Tuesday.

A volunteer nurse wearing a mask tends to a homeless person in Milan in the early hours of this morning

The day-to-day increase of 5,249 marked the second consecutive rise of around eight per cent, lower than at any point since the virus began to spread in Italy.

Health officials across Italy are poring over every new piece of data to see whether two weeks of bans and closures have made a dent in the crisis.

However, some officials have cautioned that it is still too soon to say if Italy is about to see a peak in the outbreak.

Italy’s 743 new deaths broke two days of successive declines that had taken the number down to 601 on Monday.

It set an unwanted world record of 793 fatalities in a day on Saturday.

‘The measures we took two weeks ago are starting to have an effect,’ civil protection service chief Angelo Borrelli told the daily La Repubblica before Tuesday’s toll came out.

He said more data over the next few days will help show ‘if the growth curve is really flattening.’

Few scientists expect Italy’s numbers – if they really are dropping – to follow a steady downward line.

Scientists believe that countries such as Spain and France are following in Italy’s footsteps with a lag of a few weeks.

The numbers from the US are also similar to those of Italy’s from about 20 days ago.

Most other European nations and some US states have followed Italy’s example and imposed their own containment and social distancing measures designed to stop the spread.

The data that Borrelli has gathered from Italy’s 22 regions are of crucial interest to global policy makers and medical experts.

Italy’s daily deaths are still higher than those officially recorded in China at the peak of its crisis in Wuhan’s central Hubei province.

They are also higher than those seen anywhere else in the world.

Italian officials are using the downward trend in infections to double down on their insistence that people stay home at all times, no matter the personal discomfort or economic pain.

Most big global banks think Italy has already entered a deep economic recession that could be more severe than anything seen in decades.

The Lombardy region around Milan at the epicentre of the pandemic has begun imposing 5,000 euro (£4,500) fines on those venturing outdoors without a good excuse.

Popular Categories

Download our Apps

Podcast

Subscribe to Newsletter

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

ABOUT US

AdomOnline.com is your news, politics, business, sports, entertainment, a lifestyle website. We provide you with the latest breaking news and content straight from the motherland Ghana and other countries beyond.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT

Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.